This week (4-8 September) is National Payroll Week – an annual UK-wide event organised by the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals that’s aimed at both celebrating the profession and the people working within it.
This year the theme for National Payroll Week is ‘putting payroll in the spotlight’.
Payroll is a vital part of keeping a business running smoothly, and is an increasingly complex process.
Taxable income accounts for nearly half of all taxable revenues through the £533bn total tax revenue paid to the government, with £169bn collected through income tax and £113bn through national insurance contributions.
Remember that with payroll it’s not just your salary that’s covered – pension schemes, bonuses, tax payments, holidays, sick pay, maternity and paternity leave, student loans and expenses are also included.
And, with frequent changes made to the payroll such as minimum wage adjustments or the pension auto-enrolment scheme, National Payroll Week is a great time to reflect on those people within your organisation that ensure you get the paid the right sum on a daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis.
It’s no mean feat!
Payroll is the largest line of expenditure in the majority of organisations. It’s something that should be taken extremely seriously, as even getting one person’s pay packet wrong can lead to a drop in morale.
In fact, it’s been reported that 35 per cent of employees would even consider finding another job entirely if they were paid incorrectly just once.
Moreover, the importance of getting it right is especially true for micro or small businesses.
Last year the HMRC collected an additional £474 million in tax after investigations into SMEs that made mistakes with payroll.
Even though they pay just over 10 per cent of the UK’s salaries, those SMEs accounted for over half the extra payments made through such investigations.
Did you know that in the South East there’s over 200,000 small businesses that employ staff?
That’s a lot of payroll that needs doing!
What can you do to mark the occasion?
Here’s some ideas for what you can do with your staff to mark National Payroll Week:
- Have a ‘lunchtime learning’ session to tell your employees exactly what payroll does – there’s lots of elements to it!
- Remind them of any benefits or schemes your company offers that they might not be taking advantage of, such as childcare vouchers or season ticket advances.
- Inform them of any upcoming changes to payroll in the next 12 months. Perhaps, for example, you have your pension re-enrolment date on the horizon.
- Hand out a ‘payroll quiz’ for them to complete. Do they know what all the parts of their payslip are for?
- Have a group discussion about financial awareness, and how they can save through the payroll system.
Need help with payroll?
All things considered, many business owners are now using outsourced payroll services as a solution, rather than hiring an in-house team or doing it themselves.
This takes the administrative challenge of payroll off their plate, whilst also saving them valuable time and resources to focus on their core business function.
Take this National Payroll Week to appreciate just how much goes into managing this vital part of your business.
If, however, you think that you could use some assistance, get in touch with PayAssist.
They’re a dedicated outsourced payroll company, based in Uckfield, that has a range of services available to ensure that you’re handed a bespoke solution based on your business needs.